Tag Archives: iPad 3

With a price difference of at least $600 ($399 iPad 2 vs. $999 Air), the MacBook Air and the iPad are quite the difference in price from each other. But despite a huge price difference between them, you can pit them together in a battle to see which device is better and you can still have a fair battle. As a matter of fact lets have that battle. We will compare the top features people want to see in their computers and I will show you why the iPad is a (strong) competitor against it’s Mac brothers. In this battle, I will specifically pit a iPad 2 and a $999 11″ Air together. Please note that pitting a different MacBook with a different iPad will not yield the same results. I also can not and will not pit the iPad and MacBook Pro together since they do not belong in similar categories.

Multitasking

Computers have been known for their ability to run multiple applications since the 80s-90s. To most people, multitasking is very important and we judge our computers on the ability to run multiple high-powered applications. Neither iPad nor the low-end MacBook Air can do it very well. iOS 5 (current version) has no multitasking. You can have apps in suspended mode so you can leave the app and return to it where you left off, however you can not run multiple applications at the same time with the multiple applications running. The iPad 2 only has 512 MB of RAM, while the MacBook Air has 4 GB (customizable to 8GB). The MacBook Air not only has more RAM to handle tasks efficiently, it can have more than one application running at the same time, so it is with that I give the award to the MacBook Air.

Screen Size, Weight, and Other Specs

Both the screens in the iPad and the 11″ inch iPad are quite small. The iPad is just a bit smaller than the 11 inch MacBook Air, putting on a screen size of just under 10 inches. However, there is a difference and that difference will give one device the point. The MacBook Air is a laptop, its going to go on your lap. The iPad is a tablet but tablets are typically held in the hands closer to the face. If the iPad is held to the face at its optimal distance of about a foot from your face, you can see text better on it than you can on a device 2-3 feet from you, even if that 2-3 feet-from-you-device is just a tad bigger, so in the screen size arena, I will award it to the iPad. Moving on to the weight. The weight of an iPad 2 is 1.33 pounds while the weight on the 11 inch is 2.38 inches, so the MacBook is just a little heavier, however not by much. The ability to pick up either device is not hard at all and both devices are a delight to carry. I award the weight category to both devices.

Storage

The only iPad 2 now available has 16 GB. The MacBook Air has quadruple that at 64 GB. However, even though the iPad has less space, it will actually get you further. Applications on an iPad take up a lot less space than a Mac does since the apps on iOS are designed with less code, therefore less space being used. Consider this for example, on my iPad I have 150 apps, (mostly free, but with a few paid, more storage space taking apps) about a thousand songs and about a thousand pictures, it takes up about 22 GB. I know this is more than 16 but with 16 GB you could probably fit 100 apps with the same music and pictures. Consider this, I have fewer apps (70 apps) with the same music and photos and I’ve used 30 GB so it’s a bit more than an iPad. 64 GB on a laptop would not be enough for me. However, if you use it for web surfing only it would be okay. But if you are to use it for web browsing, you’re better off getting an iPad (unless you are an elderly person, a MacBook Air would be better for you). So with that, I give the storage point to the iPad.

Gaming

This one will be a harder one to judge. The amount of games available for the MacBook doesn’t even come close to the amount of games available on the iOS App Store. However, since the processing power on the MacBook is a lot better than that of the iPad, you can play better games that require more power. I can not judge this category since it all depends on what you want, so I will actually give the point to both.

Battery Life

The batteries on both devices are strong. The MacBook Air comes with a state of the art charger called MagSafe and it will fall right out if you happen to trip over it so you wont send your MacBook (or your face) falling to the ground. The charger on the iPad doesn’t do that. However, the charge that those two chargers give are different. The iPad 2’s charger gives it a full day of charge while the 11 inch MacBook Air only gives five hours (FYI my MBA, the low-end 13 inch gives 7-8 hours, sometimes more). Because of its inability to keep a charge in the 11 inch, the charger will become your best friend, reducing its easy mobility. The battery point goes to the iPad.

Productivity

The ability to be productive on the iPad, if you have a lot of games on it, is close to zero. I have similar games on my Mac that I play from time to time (yes, adults can have fun too) and the games are a lot less in your face than in the iPad so, I tend to get things done more than on the iPad. Yes, the iPad is productive, but all the notifications, and just the fact that there are games there make you get distracted. The iPad can be very distracting while the MacBook has a reduced distraction environment. The Mac also has many productivity apps that are very useful that the iPad either doesn’t have at all or is in reduced form. So in terms of productivity, I give the point to the MacBook Air.

Speed

Okay, so this one might not be that fair since you know the MacBook Air will probably win but the iPad does put up a fair fight. The iPad is very fast in switching applications, the ability to search (of course that depends on internet connection, mostly) and fast graphics. But of course, the MacBook Air is better with all of these things. It has faster graphics, it has a faster connection, it can reach a wifi connection from a further location from the hot spot and it can switch and open applications very fast as well, so with that, I award it to the MacBook Air.

Total Count

The iPad was awarded 4 points and the MacBook was awarded… 5 points so the 11 inch MacBook Air wins the match, but not by a long shot. The screen size factor would change if I were judging a 13 inch MacBook Air as would a few other things. But I did not. I am also sure that if I reviewed the iPad 3 instead of the iPad 2 it would have been different. This slight victory shows that the iPad has really caught hold in the market in a short two years and it really is quite impressive that it can compete with laptops. Choosing between the iPad 3 and a 11 inch MacBook Air, I would get the iPad 3. It truly has come to be accepted and embraced. Allow me to make suggestions for consumers in different categories. The elderly that are taking an interest in computers or want one just because everyone else has one and wants to be in the times would want a $999 MacBook Air, a light computer without the newer touch screen technology that the elderly don’t seem to grasp well. Adults who want a traveling device may want to consider any MacBook Air of any configuration. Children who love to play games will love to play them on an iPad. An iPad is used for people in specific professions such as doctors, teachers and even pilots so an iPad may work for them as well. In the end, both the iPad 2 and the 11 inch MacBook Air (and all of Apple’s devices for that matter) are insanely great devices that are great for masses. The iPad 3 took it a step further that would win it categories the iPad 2 didn’t and of course a higher specs and larger screen-sized 13 inch Air would also get more categories. There is an Apple device for everyone out there to enjoy, you just have to find which one is right for you.

As you know the resolutionary iPad (3) was released last week with several new features from its predecessor (which will still be for sale). The iPad 2 will be sold along side the new iPad at $100 less.

Let’s discuss in detail what those updated features are and what it means for Apple’s next iPad, and really, Apple’s overall future path. And one more thing.. what is up with that name?

But first the features of the new iPad:

Retina Display- This was one of the features I was really hoping for. The screen display is very crystal clear. The display is 3.1 million pixels. There is no screen in your living room that has this many pixels, not even your TV. It’s like you’re looking at a page of a book instead of a screen. Of course, the screen resolution in the iPad 2 is really great but the new iPads screen is insanely great. The screen will provide for crisper graphics and better text. The display is powered by the new A5X chip.

A5X chip- The A5X chip provides for more functionality in the device. Finally, there is a gig of ram. It was upgraded from 512 MB in the iPad 2. It has been known the more ram on a device the faster the battery will die out but Apple has promised that with a new battery that they put in, you will still get the same 9 hours you got on iPad 2. The chip, along with the retina display, will make graphics 2 times faster and 4 times better than the iPad 2. The chip is twice as fast as its predecessor making it into the 2 ghz range (the iPad 2 was 1 ghz). The graphics will be quad-core The graphics are just amazing, they could even be comparable to gaming consoles. This chip is the reason tablets can put up a fair fight against PCs because of their ever-improving functionality. I mean, can you imagine how fast these chips will be in a few years.

5MP camera- Not bad but not as good as it could be. But, I shouldn’t be complaining, at least Apple puts cameras on their tablets (hint hint tablets without cameras). The iPad 2 has a whopping 0.8 MP camera on the back, capable of recording 720p video. The MP on the front camera is just too bad to say. Apple has yet to comment on the front camera of the new iPad. The 5MP camera is for the back. Another thing they did mention was that I can record 1080p video with it, I believe a first in tablets, furthering the death of the digital camera industry (I’ll discuss that in another article). The camera also has a feature that will allow me to take good, I-can-see-what-I-took-a-picture-of pictures. Even in the dark, yes in the dark. It uses an advanced background lighting enhancement to allow you to see what you are taking a picture of, even in less than ideal circumstances. It’s just great, and like I said earlier it will only get better.

4G LTE- Thank God, I was almost worried that Apple wasn’t going to put 4G in the iPad (3) since they didn’t put it in the iPhone 4S. This will basically confirm that iPhone 5, whenever it is released, will have 4G. 4G can be up to ten times faster than 3G ( thank goodness, 3G was just too slow). This means you can watch your YouTube videos, surf the web and many other things a lot faster on the road. 4G has been a feature most wanted by Apple users and now they finally have it.

Technical stuff- The new iPad will be offered in Black and White (right away, yes white is here to stay) just like the iPad 2. New cases will be made for this iPad, but current iPad 2 cases could probably work as the new iPad (3) gains .11 pounds and .02 inch in thickness. As expected the smart covers work for the new iPad. It is just about the same as iPad 2 in this field. The prices are the same as iPad 2.

On a budget?- Don’t worry Apple (finally) has you covered. Apple has reduced the price of the iPad 2 $100 so if you want a cheap tablet but don’t want to settle to a volume-control less Fire you can get an iPad, trust me it’s worth it. I have one.

One thing that got me about Tim Cook’s presentation was that he went through a quite a bit of talking before he revealed the new iPad. He talked a lot about the Post-PC market and how it has shaped Apple to where it is today and really it has shaped the world. It has been taking off with great strength and with this great strength the desktop, not necessarily the laptop, but the desktop sales have actually been in decline. I feel that Apple has finally pushed out a product that can seriously compete with desktops and laptops, just PCs in general. With that being said, what is up with the name of the iPad, it’s just iPad, it’s not iPad 3 or iPad HD. Well, knowing that Apple wants Post-PC devices to eventually replace PCs they will want them to have as much honor as PCs have. So let me ask you this. Have you ever seen Apple advertise an iMac as iMac 26 or MacBook Pro as MacBook Pro 27. No. You see them by themselves. You see them as just Macbook Pro and the year. They want people to know that iPads are not toys and that they can be as proficient at tasks as a PC and I believe this is a good way to start. People will, in time, have to start naming off iPads as Early-2014 iPad instead of like iPad 4. Apple wants people to think that tablets are actually better than actual PCs. Who knows? Maybe they will get to be better than PCs. Technology only progresses. And in speaking of progressing, stayed tuned for one of my future articles, I will be discussing what features Apple should and could bring to Early 2012 iPad.